American University Adds Genelec 5.1 Systems

Natick, MA (August 30, 2019)—The Audio Technology Program at American University in Washington, D.C., which focuses on the art and the science of audio and music technology, now boasts 5.1 monitor systems from Genelec in its two main control rooms.

Anchored by a 2,200-square-foot, three-studio complex, the facility offers a main recording space with variable acoustics, a drum room with a removable floor that will access six Foley pits, four isolation booths, and a machine room enabling interconnectivity of the entire studio complex. The main control room now has a 5.1 monitoring array comprising Genelec 8351A Smart Active Monitors as the LCR front array, a pair of 8341A Smart Active Monitors as the rear-surround array—all part of Genelec’s The Ones series of products—and a 7380A Smart Active Subwoofer. The second control room now has a Genelec 8020.LSE Espresso 5.1 monitor system with five 8350A Smart Active Monitors around the room and a 7050B studio subwoofer.

“It was time to update our monitoring, and we wanted a speaker that would be consistent throughout the studio complex,” explains Michael Harvey, program director, audio technology, Department of Performing Arts, at American University. “We wanted the mixes to be able to translate seamlessly between the two main control rooms.”

But just as important, “We wanted our mixes and recordings to translate accurately everywhere else, too,” he continues. “We wanted speakers that would let our students become familiar with what leading engineers and producers use every day. That is Genelec.”

Harvey says the two Genelec-equipped studios are different sizes, but the two different Genelec speaker series they purchased are suited to each room’s dimensions and acoustics. The speakers provide the brand and response consistency they sought, ensuring that as mixes and recordings move from studio to studio, students always hear a familiar tonality.

He adds, “We have one professor who adjuncts here when he’s not working with artists like Florence + The Machine and Shakira. He teaches a master-level class here and recommended the Genelecs, saying that these are speakers he encounters when he’s working in professional studios. We made the right choice. The Genelecs hit all the right notes, room to room, facility to facility.”